Yahoo!’s new chief is thinking about putting the Alibaba genie back in the bottle.

Before CEO Marissa Mayer came aboard the ailing company, shareholders were anticipating riches from the sale of part of Yahoo!’s stake in Chinese e-commerce Alibaba. The deal to sell back 25 percent of Alibaba, in which Yahoo! holds a 40 percent stake, was expected to unlock about $4 billion for investors.

Yesterday, however, Yahoo! raised doubts as to whether shareholders would see that money.

The company is conducting a review process that “may lead to a re-evaluation of, or changes to, our current plans, including our restructuring plan, our share repurchase program, and our previously announced plans for returning to shareholders substantially all of the after- tax cash proceeds of the initial share repurchase” from the Alibaba deal, according to a regulatory filing.

The disclosure sent Yahoo! shares down almost 4 percent to $15.40 in late trading.

Mayer could have other designs on the money such as building a war chest for acquisitions.